High magnetic field transport measurements of charge-ordered Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 strained thin films -: art. no. 024432

We have investigated the magnetic-field-induced phase transition of charge-ordered (CO) Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 thin films, deposited onto (100)-oriented LaAlO3 and (100)-oriented SrTiO3 substrates using the pulsed laser deposition technique, by measuring the transport properties with magnetic fields up to 22 T. The transition to a metallic state is observed on both substrates by application of a critical magnetic field (H-C>10 T at 60 K). The value of the field required to destroy the charge-ordered insulating state, lower than the bulk compound, depends on both the substrate and the thickness of the film. The difference of the critical magnetic field between the films and the bulk material is explained by the difference of in-plane parameters at low temperature (below the CO transition). Finally, these results confirm that the robustness of the CO state, depends mainly on the stress induced by the difference in the thermal dilatations between the film and the substrate.